Massoud will star along side British actress Naomi Scott, who will play Princess Jasmine. Will Smith will also star in the live-action remake as the Genie.

The remake of the super-hit 1992 animated movie is being directed by Guy Ritchie, who along with Disney insisted on casting actors of South Asian/Middle Eastern descent since the original movie is set in a fictional city in the Middle East.

British actors Riz Ahmed and Dev Patel were reportedly considered to play Aladdin, but Disney decided it wanted a lesser known actor for the role.

Massoud was born to Coptic Egyptian parents and raised in Canada, while Scott’s mother is of Indian descent, and her father is British.

Finding Massoud was not easy. Disney’s struggle to find actors to play Aladdin’s role were widely reported. In fact, the hashtag #AladdinCasting went viral on Twitter with users expressing their disappointment and outrage at Disney being unable to choose from a plethora of suitable actors of color.